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- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:06]
B
Hey, it's Shelby and Paul here and today we're helping you understand and apply Deuteronomy 13 through 15. What's happening in these chapters, Paul?
- [00:16]
A
Yeah, so we're getting more instructions for how Israel is supposed to behave in the promised land. And one thing I think that we can pull out from this is that the Israelites are supposed to remain distinct from the other nations there in the promised land. And they're not supposed to worship any other gods but the one true God that they follow.
- [00:36]
B
So not worshiping any other gods like that makes total sense to me. But we're going to see this concept of them being set apart from the nations. We have seen it and we will continue to see it. Can you just explain that for a moment? Why exactly should they be set apart from the nations around them?
- [00:51]
A
Yeah, that's a great question. I think the biggest thing is thinking back to Genesis where God spoke to Abraham and he told them, told him that his descendants would be a blessing to all the nations. And so essentially by living a set apart lifestyle, the Israelites are pointing to God and essentially showing the nations that hey, he is a blessing. He is the one that created the world and is the God of the universe. And so by living set apart, they kind of point other nations to him so that one day they might be blessed. Right?
- [01:27]
B
Yeah, I think we can even see that in our own lives today. Right. When you are, maybe you have faith am, it's something that's really difficult when you don't take part in gossip or something else that maybe the people around you do. People start to wonder like why exactly is that the case? And that does point toward the Lord. So thanks for explaining that for us. We. What else did you notice in these chapters?
- [01:52]
A
Yeah, I think, you know, you mentioning today kind of points to there's a passage in these chapters about them eating a tenth of their produce before God. And then once a year and then every three years they're supposed to give a tenth of their produce for the Levites in their cities. And this command to give a tenth or to eat a tenth of their produce in a particular way is actually where we get the word for tithe nowadays, how we kind of talk about giving to the church as a tithe, which basically means tenth. And even though for us as Christians there's not any command in the New Testament about giving a certain percentage of what we produce or our money to God, it is a reminder that as we talked about yesterday, it's about heart posture, it's an Action that you're taking that shows, hey, what I produce or what I make is not really of me. It's a gift of God, and. And that ultimately he can do better with it than I can. And I think when you think about it being a way that sets Israel apart from the nations, for me, I think about not just my finances, because I think it could be really easy to kind of just give 10% to the church and just say, okay, yeah, no, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. But there might be plenty of other areas that I'm withholding things from God, things good gifts that he's given me. And for me, I really feel convicted most of my time. You know, every. All of us often feel busy with work and family and, you know, just trying to keep up with responsibilities. But, you know, serving God's people is something he calls us to do. And so, you know, just asking myself, how am I giving even 10% of my time, maybe as an offering to the Lord to say, hey, you can do better with this than I can.
- [03:42]
B
So, yeah, I think that's really challenging. And we're coming back to this principle over and over that being obedient to God's commands is about the action and the heart. It's both things together. Okay, so how do we apply these chapters to our lives today?
- [03:58]
A
Yeah, so I think it really is coming back to that idea of being set apart. You know, the New Testament essentially points to us being God's people that are set apart from the world. And Jesus talks a lot, lot about how the world will even hate us for the way that we follow Him. And so that just kind of invites us to consider how can we set ourselves apart from the world? And again, it's not so we can receive approval from God or even receive approval from people, but rather so that we can point people to God, the God who loves them and invites them into relationship with Him. They see the way that we might respond to a really difficult situation. Like you said, just having faith or, you know, forgiving someone when they do something wrong in a radical way. You know, they kind of sit there and wonder, how is he able to do that? Why is he so forgiving? And it's an opportunity for us to say, hey, it's because of God.
- [04:51]
B
Yeah, exactly. I think my takeaway from today is I'm just gonna spend some time in reflection. I love how you talked about reflecting on. Maybe I feel like I'm being generous in one area of my life toward the Lord, but there's others that I am, like, very stingy with. And also just reflecting on if I am living as someone set apart. And, you know, those aren't easy things to figure out. We might have to ask people around us for some help to think through that we'll need the spirit's help. And so that's totally my takeaway from today to just spend some time actively reflecting on those truths and if they're reflected in my own life. All right, well, that wraps up our episode for today. We'll have more in Deuteronomy tomorrow.